and some of my other hobbies too

Friday, June 22, 2007

I had been toying with the idea of having another go at the Nutrisystem diet plan. I’ve been stuck at around 150 pounds. The good news is that I am down a little over 20 pounds from my highest weight a few years ago. I lost 10 of those pounds in the last six months helped along by Nutrisystem and the Gallbladder (I’m afraid to eat) diet. The extra 4 pounds I lost after Gallbladder surgery came right back as soon as I could eat again,drat it.

The bad news is that I’m still overweight and need to lose at least 20 more. I want to be in the normal BMI range. This is my ultimate goal. It sure sucks to be short sometimes. If I was a couple inches taller I would be at my perfect weight already.

Anyway, before shelling out another $340 for 5 weeks of yummy Nutrisystem meals. I decided to give calorie counting another try. I downloaded a software application called Diet Organizer to my Palm to help me keep track of my daily calorie intake. It’s a neat little program that not only helps you count calories but also:

tracks how the calories break down into their fat, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and mineral portions

comes with a food database of 6000 foods and super-fast food selection.

does the calculations for you.

checks that you’re getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals.

helps you know at a glance how many calories you have left each day.

builds a history of what you eat and how much you exercise.

includes exercise in your daily calorie equation.

tracks body measurements and weight, and lets you see your progress in chart form.

It will be a really handy and portable way to log every calorie that I eat. My biggest problem when I’m not on a structured diet is to keep from casually overeating. This will help me be aware of the quantities I consume and to know when I have to stop. We shall see.

When I got home I found that I had received my set of the 75th Anniversary reproduction Nancy Drew books.

These are a reproduction edition of the first six volumes published in the 1930’s. They have the original illustrations and dust jacket designs which show Nancy sleuthing about in her very proper 1930’s outfits. I will probably buy more older edition books from eBay. I like the ones that came out in the 1960’s. I can get large lots of books at decent prices if I shop the auctions carefully and watch out for ones I like. Can’t wait!